Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. my sermon ideas and illustrations are often taken from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, there could be instances where other minister’s wording is used, or wording similar. I am not trying to steal anything from anyone else, just trying to help others proclaim the gospel. my sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Sermon: Christian assurance
1 John 5:13-21
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 14 And this is the confidence that we have [a]in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. 17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. 18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. 20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
the old saying is that there is 2 great certainties in life.
Death and taxes
well I will certainly agree with the Death part.
cause I can guarantee you all that we will all die one of these days.
If you ever want to kill a conversation
just start talking about death.
no one wants to talk about that topic
but the fact is it's part of life just the same
We’ll all face it in the end, but none of us seems to want to face it now.
It’s almost as though we’re scared of it.
almost as if people think that if you talk about death someone might die.
That the grim reaper is prowling around just waiting to pounce on anyone who draws his attention to themselves.
Perhaps some think that not thinking about it will put it off.
Well, don’t be fooled none of us knows the day or the hour.
For the people of the new Testament death was often in their thoughts.
They were a persecuted Church for whom the next day, the next hour even, could signal arrest and possible death.
we find some 200 references to death or dying in the letters of the New Testament.
But what I want you to notice is that death was never referred to as a thing to fear. Rather the message of the gospel was that the fear of death has been removed.
In the place of death is eternal life.
Far from fearing death,
the Christian can see death as a necessary step that leads to new life,
something to release us from all the troubles of this world.
So John writes to the Christians in the late first century words that are equally as important to us today.
John tells us that he wrote these things to those who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that we may know that we have eternal life.
There’s no need to fear death if you believe in the name of the Son of God, because belief & faith in Jesus brings eternal life.
Back in ch 4 John told us that there is no fear in love but that perfect love drives out all fear, and
that's why those of us in a love relationship with Jesus Christ does not have to fear even death itself
Believing in Jesus Christ isn’t just about knowledge and belief, you see, it’s about a relationship.
It’s about a relationship of love.
Believing in the name of Christ and loving Christ are synonymous.
And that relationship of love drives out all fear of death and judgement
we know that a relationship with Christ leads to forgiveness and eternal life.
John 17:3 Jesus says
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent
In other words, if you believe in the name of Jesus Christ,
if you have a relationship with him,
you’ve already began to experience eternal life and you can be sure that that life will be yours after you die.
But John doesn’t leave us there.
That could have been the end of his letter
and it would have still been a good one
but John has more to say about what this assurance of eternal life means for us in this life.
He wants us to understand what it means to enjoy eternal life in the here and now.
In fact there are 4 things that arise out of being in this relationship with Jesus Christ.
They are:
A new assurance in prayer;
A new dislike towards sin;
A new attitude to the world;
and a new awareness of God.
A new assurance in prayer;
If we’re in a relationship with Jesus Christ built out of love and trust,
the first difference it will make is that it will give us a new assurance in prayer.
verse 14 says
14 And this is the confidence that we have [a]in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
a personal relationship with Christ gives us a confidence, an openness in God’s presence.
John is saying when we come to speak to God we can do so in the same kinda way we would if we were talking to our best friend or someone in our family.
because we are we are talking to our Heavenly Father
our very best friend
There was a time when a lot of Christians were taught to be very formal in their approach to God.
There are still some of them around. I've heard people get up to pray and make it sound like a fancy speech with all the right proper words
But John says here, we can speak openly to God, boldly, with confidence.
You don’t need a special phrase book.
There’s no style guide that you have to use.
Just talk to him as you would to a friend, because you know that you’re his child if you believe in his only begotten Son Jesus Christ.
And having asked in faith according to his will we can have confidence that he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us we can also have confidence that he’ll give us what we ask.
There’s an echo here of what Paul tells us in Rom 8 where he talks about all things working together for good to those who love God and then he adds:
Rom 8:32
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
We can have confidence when we ask God for something because we know that God has already given us that which is far more valuable than anything else we could ever ask for.
But I also don’t want you to overlook in v14 there that What we ask must be according to his will.
So how do we know what his will is?
We look to what he’s told us about his will.
We read his word, where he’s revealed his will to us.
Our prayers will never be more sure than when our prayers are grounded in Scripture.
When we pray, calling on God to fulfill his promises to us as we find them in the Bible.
we can have confidence that we will receive those promises
we can not make God a liar
The secret to this I think, is to make sure that when we pray we are submitting our will to God’s, not asking God to submit his will to ours
In Joshua chapters 5 & 6 just before their first battle,
the Battle of Jericho
Joshua is met by the angel of God
the commander of God’s army.
When he sees him, Joshua asks ’Are you on our side or our enemy’s’
The angel gives an interesting reply he basically says: ’Neither.’
He isn’t on Joshua’s side, he’s on God’s side and he basically tells Joshua that he had better make sure he’s on God’s side as well.
Well, it’s the same with our prayers. We’d better make sure that it’s our wills that are being submitted to God’s and not the other way around.
because when our wills are completely surrendered to Gods we can have complete confidence that our prayers will be answered.
John then turns to one example of a prayer that we can have confidence in according to God’s will.
He tells us that If we see our brother or sister committing a sin that is not unto death that we may ask and God will give life to them.
Ezekiel 18:23 says:
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
So when we see a brother or sister doing something that God doesn’t like we can have confidence in praying that they’d repent and turn back to God.
You see we have a responsibility towards each other as Christian brothers and sisters.
In the context of a loving relationship, we are our brother’s or sister’s keeper.
So we should be praying for one another that we’ll remain faithful to God.
Mind you he says, there will be some cases when you’ll be wasting your breath. There are some sins that are unto death
that is which lead to death.
This is one of those passages that have been much debated and much misunderstood.
Just what does he mean by a sin unto death?
Some Christians get very worried that they might have committed an unforgivable sin without knowing it.
So what does he mean?
Well, as far as I can see the sort of thing he’s talking about must have to do with our response to Jesus Christ, and our attitude to sin.
That is, the only sins which are unforgivable are a continued denial of Jesus Christ as the risen Son of God, and a refusal to admit and confess our sins to God.
Calvin described it like this: ’a resistance in one’s heart against the truth of God, even though one is touched with the glory of that truth and cannot plead ignorance. Therefore this sin is seen as a bitter and hardhearted resistance.’
This sort of sin is unforgiven and will remain unforgiven because the sinner refuses to call on the gracious means of pardon that God has provided.
the person who repeatedly rejects Christ in the end becomes incapable of repentance.
So these words are a warning to us
never to stop turning back to God for forgiveness.
A reminder to always remember that if we sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the perfect offering for our sins.
But also to remember that all wrongdoing is sin.
All wrongdoing is serious in God’s sight.
Well, that leads us on to the next result of believing in Jesus Christ. That’s
A new dislike towards sin
Not only can we have confidence in approaching God
we can also be confident that the result of following God is that sin will be taken away from us. God will not ever condone sin
therefore there's no place in the believer’s life for sin.
This is kinda like double sided coin.
On one side we find the believer’s response. which is, a desire to steer clear of sin, a strong dislike towards it.
On the other side we see God’s part in keeping us safe from it.
John tells us that those who are born of God do not sin
the one who is born of God is protected by Jesus.
So the result of being in Christ is that we begin to hate sin the way God does, but the means by which we change, by which we begin to stop sinning, is the work of Christ.
It’s the work of the Holy Spirit within us that actually enables us to stop sinning.
It’s Christ who keeps us safe from the attacks of the evil one.
Jesus said, ’I give my sheep eternal life and ... no-one can snatch them out of my hand..’
part of Christ’s saving work is to change our minds so we no longer want to disobey God.
In fact he changes us so we want to do his will.
Going back to the previous point then, here’s another prayer we can pray with confidence:
that Christ would change us to be more like him.
Thirdly, our relationship with Christ leads to
A new attitude to the world v19
John tells us We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.’
For the Christian there’s a new understanding of where we belong.
We don’t belong in this world,
you see this world lies under the power of the evil one.
You don’t have to look very far to see the truth of that statement do you?
all you have to do is turn on the TV screens, read the newspapers
it’s fairly obvious that this world still lies under Satan’s power.
You may even find there are times when you feel uncomfortable being in this world. That shouldn’t surprise you because the truth is, we don’t belong here.
Where do we belong?
We belong in God’s Kingdom!
Again, that’s why we shouldn’t be afraid of death.
All death means for the Christian is an end to this uncomfortable existence in a world that’s under the power of Satan.
no more suffering sorrows separation or any of that
no more tears for he will wipe the tears from our eyes
Finally, our relationship of faith in Jesus Christ leads to:
A new awareness of God (vs 20-21)
If the letter could have finished with the statement of v13, which I said earlier
then here is an even greater summary of his letter, and even of the gospel itself
20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
The basis of our faith is what Jesus Christ has done for us
’The Son of God has come’
The result of his coming is that he has given us understanding, so we may know him who is true.
That is, our minds have been changed so we can recognise Jesus for who he is and so that we can come into a loving relationship with him.
And our new condition is described in those two words ’in him.’
What Jesus has done in his coming to earth is not just to provide an atoning sacrifice for our sins, but he’s actually made it possible for us to be brought into the closest union with him and through him with the one true living God.
Through our faith in Jesus Christ we’re brought into a lifelong, an eternal, relationship with the one true and living God.
Here is the reality of eternal life.
Eternal life isn’t just living forever.
It’s living in Christ.
In Christ who forms part of the Godhead, of the Trinity.
It’s being in the closest possible relationship with the eternal and true God,
with the living God,
the one who is eternal life.
That’s why he finishes with the warning to keep ourselves from idols.
How could we follow idols when we’re in union with the true and living God?
conclusion:
Do you know that you have eternal life?
Are you absolutely certain that you have nothing to fear from death?
I hope you are.
But if you’re not then you can be.
It’s not hard.
John says ’We have this confidence in Christ, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.’ & ’These things are written to those who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that they may know that they have eternal life.’
If you want to be certain that you have nothing to fear from death, then put your confidence in Jesus Christ.
Accept his claim to be the only begotten Son of God.
Admit your disobedience to God and ask him for forgiveness.
Believe his promise that if you ask he will forgive your sins and cleanse
you from all unrighteousness.
Then ask him to help you, to give you the strength to do God’s will day by day.
If you’ve done those things then you can have confidence that God will keep his promise to you.
You’ll begin to see the change in your life that God promises to us.
You need never fear death.
Rather you can look forward to that day when all the trials of this world will be finished.
Let's pray
